A Spoon for Every Bite

by Joe Hayes, Rebecca Leer (Illustrator)

A poor husband and wife ask their rich neighbor to be godfather of their child, and once they are compadres, prey upon his pride and extravagance to trick him out of his fortune.

Genres: Folklore, Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction, Space, Cultural, Folk Tales

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Designated New Mexico Eminent Scholar by the New Mexico Commission on Higher Learning (1979).

Joe was the youngest of five children. His father loved to tell stories. The family moved to Arizona where Joe learned to speak Spanish which became an integral part of his storytelling and writing.

In 1979, he began to devote himself full time to sharing stories. He focuses on elementary school audiences although his work appeals to a wide range of ages.

In 2001, he traveled to Cuba participate in a translation workshop sponsored by Writers of the Americas.

For children and adults alike, Joe's storytelling sessions outside the tepee at the Wheelwright Museum in Santa Fe are a summer tradition that has continued for over 25 years.

Other facts:
*Youngest of five children
*Graduated from University of Arizona with a Bachelor of Arts in English.
*Taught at Sunnyside High School in Tucson, Arizona and also in Los Alamos, NM.
*Employed in mineral exploration work, working all over the western U.S. as well as in Mexico and Spain.
*Delivered the Commencement address at the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at U.C.L.A.
*Currently lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Reviews

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this folktale, told in both Spanish and English, because I couldn't imagine how you could use a different spoon for every bite of food you eat every day. Very clever! I liked Rebecca Leer's illustrations, especially of the rich neighbor's distinctive mustache, which changed shape with his moods. Further information at the back of the book explains the origins of this old tale. Recommended for story time in either language!

[Nouru-éddine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the idea behind this folktale.

[Carly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this book was hysterical! It is about a very rich man who gets tricked by his poor neighbors. It is a trickster tale and it has a great ending. Kids will like it becuase the content is such a preposterous idea. This would be an excellent book for a folklore unit.

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great bilingual book by Joe Hayes, storyteller extraordinaire! This funny folktale is beautifully illustrated.

[Kiyoko · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a complete miss for me. A poor couple (at the insistence of the wife) invites their rich neighbor to be the compadre, or godfather, of their child. Why would they want this? I can think of only one reason, that they might benefit in some way from the relationship. In this setting I imagine that there are well-off people who are happy to sponsor youngsters in this way, for the benefit of all.

The poor couple have only two spoons, so they save and purchase a third spoon so that the godfather can come to dinner and eat with them. The rich godfather embarrasses the husband by laughing at the fact that they only have three spoons, so the wife, who insisted on asking the man to be the godfather in the first place, decides to trick the rich godfather.

At this point I am utterly confused as to what this woman is attempting to do. First she insists that a rich man become their godfather, then is thin skinned and offended when he momentarily acts like a rich man in front of them.

So she tells the rich godfather that they know someone who uses a new spoon with every bite. The illustrations show the poor husband and wife winking knowingly at each other behind the rich godfather's back.

At this point, we can see the "moral" of the story barreling down on us like a freight train of single
use silver spoons. The rich godfather takes the bait, and over the next year squanders his wealth on silverware. His servants dump all the spoons on the poor couple, making a pile bigger than their house.

Of course, the rich man continues his folly until he is utterly ruined and has only three spoons to his name, a turn of events that is completely unbelievable in any place setting, sterling or otherwise.

The now impoverished godfather shows up, angrily wanting to know what's what. This time he is the one who is embarrassed by the silly truth that he likely knew all along Once the poor wife's brilliant wisdom is slapped down on the table like a cold bean burrito, the godfather becomes upset "and leaves sadly".

And the poor couple walk home smiling and live happily ever after, planning to sell the mountain of silver spoons to have a comfortable existence.

Was it this woman's plan all along to try and get the godfather's riches from him? Because it sure looks that way to me.

To be fair, the book includes "a note for readers and storytellers" on the last page. In tiny print it explains some historical background for the tale and explains that most godparent relationships were highly esteemed. Despite this fact, the story is a twisted tale of greed on the part of the parents.

1/2 star - nothing to look at here folks. Move along.

[Sara Miranda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summary:
This book is about a poor couple that lives next to a rich man, invites him over to dinner one day, after saving up to buy a third soon so they could feed him. The rich man laughs at them, claims he is rich enough to use a different spoon every day. When the poor couple says that they know someone who can use a different spoon for every bite. The rich man becomes angry, vows to do the same, and squanders his wealth. When the poor couple reveal that the friend is an Indian who uses a tortilla chip for every bite.
Themes:
The themes in this book are greed vs. wealth, as well as humility.
Personal Response:
I remember having this book read to me when I was younger and I absolutely loved it because it was about Mexican-American culture. Being Hispanic, I did not see many books like that as a child. I also thought it was so clever, because I also did not see how anyone could use a spoon for every bite, so the ending was quite a pleasant surprise for me.
Recommendation:
I recommend this book to children about 6-10 years old, because the themes are a little more difficult for younger children to understand, but the story itself has endearing characters in the couple, as well as very important lessons. Also, I think that the inclusion of a different culture is so important for children to witness.

[Rachel Thacker · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Spoon for Every Bite by Joe Hayes was a Hispanic folk tale about a poor household and rich household. The poor couple has a baby and asks the rich man to be the Godfather of the child. In his agreement of becoming the Godfather, the poor couple wants to invite the rich man over for dinner. The problem is they only have two spoons. So, they save up money to buy another spoon and invite the rich man over. While he is over for dinner, the rich man insults them for being poor and only having two spoons. The poor couple decides to tell the rich man that they know someone who is so rich that he uses a different spoon for every meal. This frustrated the rich man and challenged him to be better.
As a teacher, I can use this for teaching the golden rule. Students may think the poor couple was right to trick the rich man, but in the end the rich man gave up all of his fortune just to be better than someone else. He ended up poor for his bad choices. We could also take it in as making good choices or bad and their outcomes. We could go into detail on why a choice would be good or why it would be bad and relate it to the choices in the story.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

How after getting a put down from a boastful rich man(compadre), a poor couple says something to the rich fellow that ends up benefitting them.

Phrase:
We have a friend in these parts who uses a different spoon for every bite he eats. He never uses the same spoon twice.

The result:
"The rich man was so upset by the idea that someone lived more lavishly than he did..."

So he did the same thing and sent the used spoons to the poor couple. They ended up getting rich from all the silver from the spoons!

[Elizabeth Seibel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is always a hit among my students. They love the message. They love the ending where the neighbor gets what he deserves. They go crazy when they find out what the spoon is. Many of my fifth graders said that this was their favorite picture book this year so far (we have read 15).

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this, but it didn't sit right with me. They asked the rich man to be their baby's godfather, but then they let him spend all his wealth on spoons, and they profit off the extra spoons. That just doesn't seem nice to me.

[Jackson Linko · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is kind of like a classic folktale with a funny twist. It’s about greed and how it can backfire, which is a good lesson. The pictures are colorful and fun, but the story itself feels a little repetitive. It’s a nice read, but not something that really sticks with you after.

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this story. I could not figure out how to use a new spoon with every bite until the end. Which I found funny.

[Virginia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up this book because I was intrigued by the title. This is a southwest folktale about greed, friendship, and cleverness.

[❂ Ann ❂ · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite books for Spanish-English prime time family reading time at the library. The theme is GREED.

[Tam Newell · Rating 4 out of 5]

50 States book for New Mexico. Traditional Hispanic fable. I did not see the ending on this one and thought it was cute and clever.

[Morgan Marquess]

Lexile: 630L
In this lovely New Mexico folktale, a rich man
tries to prove his wealth to his poor neighbors by using a new spoon.

[Marlene · Rating 3 out of 5]

Can a person be so affluent that they use a different spoon for every bite of food every single day? A poor family puts their rich neighbor to the test.

[Despina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read for English Reading Circle

[Mallory Ong]

Hispanic American Book

A bilingual book about greed

Lexile level-N/A (even though we are unaware of this evaluation, it is still great to use it because I think that it would be such an amazing book to use in the classroom with a great message)

Grade level- pre k-k, 1-2, 3-5 (obviously would just be under or above proper reading level for some grades)

[Sydney Humphrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

i chose this book for a project. I really like this story because of the lesson of being humble, being kind, and to learn from other people jealousy. I like this book because it about a Hispanic family, that lives in Mexico and really shows what it is like to be a family in Mexico. This story also ends on a really funny not and full of moral meanings.

[Jorie Turner · Rating 2 out of 5]

Summary: A poor couple lived next door to a very rich man. The poor couple asked the rich man to be the God-Father of their child. The man agreed. The poor couple wanted to give their thanks to the man so they wanted to invite him to dinner, however the couple only had two spoons. They saved and worked in order to by another spoon. When they finally did they invited their neighbor. The man laughed when the poor people told him they only had three spoons and told him a lie about how they knew a man who used a new spoon for every bite of food he took. The man believed them and said that he had so much money he could do that also. The man spent all his money and sold all his possessions in order to try and use a new spoon for every bite. The poor people collected all the spoons he used and finally the rich man gave up.
Response:This story was good, but I don't know if I would choose to read it again. It isn't really aimed at the age group I am planning on teaching

[Angel Romero · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summary: A poor couple becomes friends with a rich man and invites him to dinner. The poor couple only own three spoons and feel embarrassed when the rich man laughs at their poverty. The couple decides to play a trick on the rich man, making him waste all his wealth on spoons.
This bilingual story is written in a comedic tone that keeps the students engaged in and out. This book is good for a third grade classroom.
Literature Terms: The tone of the book reflects a comedy. The conflict of the story revolves around who is going to purchase a spoon for every bite. The man does not realize that the couple is playing a trick on him, is what makes the story more engaging. This story connects to my life because I eat with tortillas for every bite.
Activity: I would use this book to talk about different cultures and ways of living. I would have each child write a passage and illustrate what their favorite food is. Also talk about the importance of the moral in this story.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Children's books that incorporate a little spanish vocabulary and concepts always capture my attention and interest. Children have such a unique and special ability to soak up information faster than adults and reading stories that can help introduce the spanish language are so wonderful to their learning. I liked this book of how it had the entire story in both languages: english & spanish. At the back, it even had a glossary with all the vocab words to learn them more permanently. I liked the story line of how the family was clever enough to be-friend the wealthy man and tricked him into getting many more spoons after he made fun of the family for only having three spoons. I would want to use this story in a classroom setting to teach about how some people are less-fortunate than others and how we can be charitable towards them.

[Nichole Sedler]

Written by Joe Hayes, illustrated by Rebecca Leer, published by Orchard Books, 1999.

Summary: A trickster tale set in the Southwest. A poor couple tricks their rich neighbor into using a new spoon for every bite. He tries until he has squandered his wealth to buy more and more spoons all the while giving the used spoons to the poor couple. The couple ends up becoming wealthy with all the silver spoons their neighbor disposes of.

Response: A moral tale based on the Hispanic traditional understanding that a tortilla can be used as a spoon. The illustration are rich and vividly portray the emotions of the characters.

Possible Themes and Units: Southwestern culture, Character Education.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved that this book because of the bilingual passages. On every page the text was in English and Spanish. I really had fun reading it in Spanish, and double checking the the English version if I had the context of the story right. I liked the moral of the story that not everything is as impossible as it may seem. Sometimes the old wise ways are better than the foolish seeking to accomplish an extravagant task.

[Julianna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember reading this book when I was barely in middle school grade, and thinking it very very clever. In fact, it left such an impression on my mind that picking it up again to read, after only reading it once over 8 years ago, I found that I remembered every page exactly as it was. It is a very funny book to read to children and young teenagers.

[Whitney]

This is a Folktale about a poor couple who invites their rich neighbor to dinner and the events that follow.
I thought this was a funny book with a great moral. It an be used to share culture and different viewpoints. It would be a great way to start discussions on social justice or differences in SES. I thought the story was interesting and it might prove funny to children.

[Ronster · Rating 4 out of 5]

New Mexican trickster tale. A couple tricks a rich man out of his spoons by telling him they know someone who uses a spoon for every bite he takes. Great illustrations and can be used with other trickster tales or a unit about New Mexico.

[Raven Grider · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is mediocre. I would probably not read this to my class because of the derogatory adjectives used to describe poor people. The theme of the story is inspirational, but it just did not appeal to me.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting how one person can consider one thing something and an other an other. using a spoon for every bite is funny. he sales everything he got in order to buy a new spoon, and not to use that same one twice.